November 17, 2021, opinions

Designated for publication Great American Insurance Co. v. Employers Mutual Casualty Co., 20-11113, appeal from N.D. Tex. Haynes, J. (King, Smith, Haynes), insurance Reversing summary judgment dismissal of plaintiff umbrella insurer’s declaratory judgment claim against defendant umbrella insurer in dispute regarding which umbrella insurer’s policy had priority coverage for a settlement agreement reached in an … More November 17, 2021, opinions

October 20, 2021, opinions

Designated for publication U.S. v. Martinez, 20-50984, appeal from W.D. Tex. Costa, J. (King, Costa, Ho), criminal, sentencing, supervised release Granting Anders motion to appointed defense counsel to withdraw as no non-frivolous grounds for appeal exist, but specifically addressing why there is not a non-frivolous argument that the orally pronounced terms of supervised release did … More October 20, 2021, opinions

October 1-4, 2021 opinions

Designated for publication Goldring v. U.S., 20-30723, appeal from E.D. La. Engelhardt, J. (Jones, Southwick, Engelhardt), tax Affirming in part and reversing in part district court’s summary judgment in favor of government dismissing taxpayers’ refund claims in their entirety. In separate litigation, one of the taxpayers had prevailed in a suit to have her stock … More October 1-4, 2021 opinions

September 30, 2021 opinions

Designated for publication Adams v. All Coast, L.L.C., 19-30907, appeal from W.D. La. per curiam (Smith, Clement, Oldham), Fair Labor Standards Act, maritime law Denying petition for en banc rehearing (Judges Jones and Elrod voting for rehearing; Chief Judge Owen and Judges Smith, Stewart, Dennis, Southwick, Haynes, Graves, Higginson, Costa, Willett, Ho, Duncan, Engelhardt, Oldham, … More September 30, 2021 opinions

September 22, 2021 opinions

Unpublished P. v. Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas, 20-30361, appeal from W.D. La. per curiam (Ho, Oldham, Wilson), Oldham, J., concurring; insurance, ERISA Reversing district court’s grant of plaintiff’s summary judgment motion and denial of defendant’s cross-motion for summary judgment, regarding defendant insurer’s decision to only cover a portion of plaintiff’s daughter’s months-long … More September 22, 2021 opinions

September 7-9, 2021 opinions

Designated for publication U.S. v. McClaren, 17-30524, appeal from E.D. La. Stewart, J. (Stewart, Higginson, Wilson), criminal, severance, Batson challenge, sufficiency of evidence, sentencing, First Step Act Granting government’s petition for panel rehearing of May 18, 2021 opinion; withdrawing previous panel opinion and substituting new one; denying defendants’ petition for panel rehearing and for rehearing … More September 7-9, 2021 opinions

August 27, 2021 opinions

Designated for publication U.S. v. Martinez, 20-11016, appeal from N.D. Tex. Costa, J. (Elrod, Southwick, Costa), criminal, sentencing Vacating sentence on conviction for drug conspiracy, and remanding for resentencing under new calculation of amount of money involved. Defendant owned a tobacco shop, and various drugs and drug paraphernalia were found in the back of his … More August 27, 2021 opinions

August 26, 2021 opinions

Designated for publication Ward v. U.S., 20-10836, appeal from N.D. Tex. Southwick, J. (Jones, Southwick, Engelhardt), criminal, compassionate release Affirming district court’s denial of motion for compassionate release. The Court held that the district court may use the sentencing factors set forth in 18 U.S.C. § 3553(a) to reject compassionate release when the Government fails … More August 26, 2021 opinions

August 25, 2021 opinions

Designated for publication Jennings v. Towers Watson, 19-11028, appeal from N.D. Tex. Higginson, J. (King, Higginson, Wilson), Title VII, employment discrimination, Americans with Disabilities Act Affirming summary judgment in favor of former-employer defendant on plaintiff’s claims for state-law civil conspiracy, hostile work environment under Title VII and the ADA, disability discrimination under the ADA, racial … More August 25, 2021 opinions

August 24, 2021 opinions

Designated for publication U.S. v. Sims, 19-20833, appeal from S.D. Tex. Davis, J. (Davis, Haynes, Oldham), criminal, sentencing, sufficiency of evidence Affirming conviction of defendant on sex trafficking a minor and conspiracy to sex traffic a minor, and imposition of life sentence; holding that there was sufficient evidence to support conviction, that district court did … More August 24, 2021 opinions